Lidl Binos

johnomahony wrote: I picked up a pair anyway. They are not bad but not even close to the 10 x 50s they normally sell. OK for birdwatching but pretty awful for astronomy. Roughly a 3 degree field of view. Lots of chromatic aberration and internal reflections.
Save up another €6 and get the 10 x 50s.

Just ordered a pair of Pentax PCF 10 x 50s. I have never had a quality 10 x 50 binocular before so I am looking forward to trying these and doing a comparison to my €19 Lidl Meade 10 x 50s

I have the Pentax PCF WP II 10x50s, John, they are incredibly sharp, the best I have ever used. The only gripe I have with the binos are the lens caps, honestly, they are c**p, they don't stay on the lenses and they are such a let down. I have my binos a bout five years, perhaps they have changed in the interim. Apart from that, you will not be disappointed with them.
Paul

Thanks Paul

I have ordered the WP II's. I believe the caps are still c**p but its a minor niggle (hopefully )

Well my Pentax 10x50 PCF WII binos arrived from Amazon today. Its a beautiful night outside but bloody cold , so I have had a chance to have a quick look through them.
A fair bit of lateral CA during the daytime on sharp contrast objects (crows against a bright sky etc). There is a good bit of field curvature on the outer 20% of the field of view. The center of the field seems sharp but there is noticeable vignetting again on the outer 20% of the FOV under dimmer light.
I have not looked through binoculars for several years at the night sky and I have been spoilt using top class Naglers so I am probably a bit picky ,especially when the binos cost quite a bit less than my cheapest Televue lens.
Under the stars, the views are very contrasty and I can see a lot more detail than on my old Meade 10x50 (ex Lidl). Again the outer 20% has a lot of curvature but it does not detract much. The Plieades looked gorgeous. I managed to see M31, M41?, double cluster in Perseus and M42 which showed lots of detail. Star colours look very nice and pleasing to the eye-very noticeable on the Hyades.. This was all hand held.
This is the first time I have owned a €200 binocular. I am sure if I spent 5 times as much I might get better corrected optics but I could also buy a nice 80mm apo for that price. I am looking forward to putting them on a tripod when I get home to really push them.
With all the crappy Irish weather I find myself using my 90mm mak cass 95% of the time during breaks in the clouds. The binos will add that extra grab and go capability.

Thank you, John, for that mighty fine report.
Pentax is definitely an excellent brand. I do own a 10 mm eyepiece which was manufactured by them.
I am glad you observed M45, M31, M42, the Hyades and Ngc 869 and Ngc 884 with them.

Keep looking up!

Aubrey.

I have had a chance to compare some of my binoculars during the daylight. Alas no clear night since Wednesday to test under the stars.
I have the following instruments. These are my impressions:

1) Meade 10 x 50s (Lidl)
2) Celestron Skymaster 15 x 70s (Argos)
3) Pentax PCF WII 10 x 50s ( Amazon)

Sharpness of image
No contest. Pentax takes the prize here. The images are crisp and contrasty and much brighter that the other binos. Colours look bright and fairly natural. The Celestrons are quite respectable. The Meades are a bit soft and have a tight focus but still useable but colours are dull and yellowed.

Field of View
Again, Pentax. The outer 10% is a bit mushy but the remaining FOV is sharp. They only have a 5 degree FOV though. The Meade go soft at the outer 30% as do the Celestrons.

Chromatic aberration
All binoculars show some CA. Even very expensive models when looking at a large contrast such as a roof or a tree limb against a bright sky display some level of CA. Again the Pentax wins here. The CA is noticeable mainly when looking off axis. Even then it is quite tolerable. The Celestrons had the worse CA with lots of blue flashes everywhere. Surprisingly, the Meades showed little CA.

Distortion
Pincushion effect is visible in all three examples (looking at the bowing of a straight wall above and below the center of the FOV). The Meades show very strong pincushion. The Celestrons show less but still quite prominent. The Pentax's show only slight distortion above and below the central FOV. Some level of distortion is normal in binoculars and is often deliberately added by the manufacturers to minimise other distortions (always a compromise with optical distortions).
On a tripod one can see field curvature when moving your eye around at the eyepieces in all models. This is quite strong in the Pentax's. If they are handheld with the eye obviously fixed in position one does not notice it. Spherical aberation is present in the outer 10-15%. Stars do not all focus to a nice point at the edges at he same time although the center of the FOV is tack sharp.The edges are slightly out of focus.

Build quality
The Pentax's look very well made with fully multicoated optics, internal focusing mechanism with focus lock (very useful) and are fully N2 sealed and waterproof.
The Skymasters are reasonably solid and have some degree of sealing. The Meades are surprisingly well made for their price point. No mechanical issues at all.

Conclusion
All three binos represent excellent value for their price points. It still amazes me that Lidl can sell these instruments for under €20 with decent optics and a fairly solid build. They also have the best eye cups, straps and a decent carry bag to boot. Hard to beat if on a tight budget or are just starting in the hobby.
The Celestrons (and clones) are hard to beat for a 70mm binocular for under €100.
The Pentax definitely outshine in performance and build quality but at a €200 price tag. They are a great upgrade for anyone looking to move from budget binos to a better quality instrument.
From looking at the reviews, the Nikon Action EX's are also very good as well as the Opticron Imagics and Stratspey marines and are similarly priced.

Perhaps some day I can invest in a pair of Leicas, Swarovski or high end Nikons/ Pentax's but one is looking at €1000-€2000. One can get a nice Apo for that kind of cash. If you are also into hiking or birding it may be worth the investment for that extra image and build quality.